The judges had an uneventful evening as only one of a dozen fights on the overall M-1 Challenge 89 card went the full distance for a decision in this true International event. Fighters represented 11 different countries: Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Brazil, Azerbaijan, France, Belarus, Georgia, Bulgaria, Israel and Spain.

Buchinger (33-6-0, M-1: 7-2-0), fighting out of Slovakia, originally captured the M-1 Challenge featherweight title on October 17, 2014, stopping Tural Ragimov on punches in the fourth round, in the M-1 Challenge 52 Fight of the Night. Buchinger retained his title for more than three years, losing his title belt last November 24 at M-1 Challenge 86, when Khamzat Dalgiev knocked him out by punches in the opening round.

In the second round, Buchinger used his vast arsenal of skills to defeat the game Krasnikov, of Russia, by way of an anaconda choke for a second-round submission.

Buchinger’s strong comeback against his Ukrainian opponent, Krasnikov (14-4-0), who had won 13 of his last 14 MMA fights going into his showdown with Buchinger, should position the Slovakian for a possible rematch with Dalgiev.

Russian featherweight contender Viktor Kolesnik (12-3-1) went to the ground with a effective Guillotine Choke for a first-round triumph by submission over M-1 Global-debuting David “Davi Boxer” Silva de Souza (8-3-0), of Brazil, in the co-featured event.

Also fighting on the main card, Russian heavyweight Anton Vyazigin (9-2-0) knocked out Zaur Gadzhibabayev (6-2-0) in the first round on punches

Ali Albogachiev (5-0-0) punched out Rasul Magomedov (7-0-0) in the first round of a fight between undefeated Russian lightweight prospects, while Russian featherweight Ivan Kibala (3-0-0) stopped Spaniard Daniel “Diamond” Vasquez (4-3-0) in the second round on punches.

In pre-undercard action, Dmitry Novikov (1-0-1) locked in a rear naked choke on fellow Russian heavyweight Mikhail Makogon (0-2-0) for a victory by first-round submission. Russian middleweight knocked out fellow countryman Krill Mazhara (2-2-0) with a kick to the head in the second round.